From Marti Klein mlklein@MIRACOSTA.EDU
As with other ethnic or racial group identifiers, the way in which
one identifies one's self may differ according to socioeconomic
status, age, location (rural versus urban, level of racial/ethnic
integration, U.S. region, etc.), country or region of origin,
immigration status, and many other variables.
I routinely ask my students, in the context of lectures dealing with
the subject, how they identify themselves in terms of race and
ethnicity, and find quite a bit of variation. Further, it leads to
some very interesting, and occasionally passionate, classroom
discussion as the students defend the way in which they label and
perceive their ethnicity and/or race. This is particularly true for
Hispanic/Latino/Chicano students.
I would ask the students how they identify themselves -- as
Hispanics, Chicanos, Latinos, or? -- to see if there is any type of
consensus. Since the program ultimately needs to attract and serve
the students, and many of the students will be Hispanic/Chicano,
Latino, it is important that they identify with the name of the
program. Perhaps unfortunately, most programs need to be marketed to succeed.
Marti Klein
Geography Department
MiraCosta College
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